


Why Steve Did Not Need To Try the Subtle Approach

by Blackrose197666



Series: Why... [6]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Cayden wants to move things along, Clint being Clint, Clint gets injured - again, Developing Relationship, Everyone Finds Out, M/M, Natasha knows all, Steve takes a leaf out of Tony's book, Tony Being Tony, Workaholic Cayden
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-17
Updated: 2016-01-17
Packaged: 2018-05-14 14:20:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5747650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blackrose197666/pseuds/Blackrose197666
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part six in the "Why" series. The rest of the team observe Clint being treated after a battle by Cayden and put two and two together however Natasha swears them to secrecy. Steve would like to get to know the man his friend is dating a bit better and decides to head down to SHIELD medical. To check on recently injured agents of course.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> More fluffy nonsense from Clint and Cayden - with appearances from the whole gang. yay!

Clint glanced at his watch as he begun the climb up the stairs towards Cayden’s apartment. He was five minutes or so early but the doctor should have finished his shift over an hour ago and be waiting for him anyway. Heading along the landing he started on the next set of stairs, brow furrowing slightly as he felt his cell phone buzz in his pocket. Pulling it out his frown deepened as he found a message from Cayden.

_Sorry, running late. Just leaving. Be there in 15_

Clint rolled his eyes, quickly typing back _ok, just here, see you soon_ before shoving the cell phone back in his pocket. Cayden had only returned to work two days before following his knee injury and he was supposed to be taking it easy. Not that Clint was surprised at all – this was why he had suggested ordering food in _after_ the two of them were both in the apartment and not just pick have Clint pick something up on his way.

The archer climbed the last of the stairs and made his way along the hall to Cayden’s door, dropping his rucksack and slumping to the ground, leaning against the wall. Bringing his knees up Clint rested his elbows on them and leant his head back and closed his eyes, not paying the blindest bit of attention to the sound of a nearby door opening. This was not the first time he had found himself waiting for the other man after a later than expected shift…

x-x-x

Cayden practically jumped out of his jeep, pushing the door shut quickly and locking the car over his shoulder as he made his way toward his apartment block. He started to run up the stairs but quickly stopped as he felt a twinge in his leg. Inhaling deeply and muttering a curse under his breath he climbed the stairs at a more sensible speed. The last thing he needed was a lecture about overdoing it on his first days back at work. As it was he probably _had_ overdone it and Clint was more than likely going to notice at some point during the night… He was getting good at noticing things like that…

Climbing the last of the stairs Cayden turned into the hallway and stopped, eyebrow arching at the sight that greeted him.

“Good evening Mrs Sanders,” Cayden offered the woman standing talking to Clint a smile as he stepped toward the two, thankful he recognised her and remembered her name from meeting her briefly as he had been moving in. Clint – who had been standing with his back mostly to the stairwell – looked over his shoulder with a blend of relief and a glower. The woman he was talking to returned a small smile.

“And here is the elusive doctor in person,” she commented as Clint pulled a face, taking a step back and turning so his back was not longer to Cayden, giving the doctor a pointed look as he did so. “I was just saying to your… _friend_ here that you’ve barely been seen around here since you moved in.”

“Well you know… being a doctor ain’t exactly nine to five,” he smiled as he moved towards the door, twirling his set of keys to select the right one. “Speaking of which it’s been a long day – you’re going to have to excuse us.”

“Oh, of course,” the woman forced a smile and stepped back, giving a small nod as she turned to head on down the corridor. Cayden grinned as he unlocked the door and felt Clint step up behind him, head falling against his shoulder with an exasperated sigh.

“So you’ve met one of my neighbours then?” the doctor smirked, pushing the door open and gesturing for Clint to step through. The archer pulled a face and complied.

“I got the _Spanish Inquisition_ from one of your neighbours,” he corrected. “She was asking me _everything_ …”

“Everything?” Cayden arched an eyebrow, dropping his bag on the sofa and shrugging off his jacket, collapsing onto the other sofa.

“ _Everything_ ,” Clint repeated, dumping his own bag next to Cayden’s and clambering on next to the doctor. “She wanted to know if you were really a doctor, what department you worked in, where you’re from, if you have family, who the hell I was – you know I’ve been spotted right? Apparently your building has been abuzz with chatter about the mysterious man visiting the mysterious doctor…” the archer punched Cayden in the chest as the doctor laughed before he buried his head in the same spot with another sigh. “Damn you for being late.”

Cayden chuckled again, shrugging absently.

“Sorry?” he smirked, earning a snort from Clint. “So what did you tell her?”

Clint raised his head and grinned at the other man.

“I told her you were an assassin and I was your handler.”

Cayden laughed out loud, shaking his head.

“Well that will have helped endear us to the building, thank you darlin’,” he rolled his eyes. Clint just shrugged.

“Given how when she first approached me she commented I was the elusive doctor’s _friend_ and given the face she pulled I think she knows _exactly_ who I am.”

Cayden rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, that’s the kind of tone my mother uses…” he mumbled. Clint’s eyebrow arched as the doctor’s face screwed up.

“Is she really that bad?” he asked, running a hand over Cayden’s shoulder as he scoffed.

“The first thing she asks when I call her is if I’m getting enough sleep and eating right. The second is if I have a girlfriend yet.”

“Really?” Clint screwed up his nose. Cayden sighed quietly and shrugged.

“Anyway. Don’t know about you but I’m starving.”

Clint nodded and moved to clamber off the sofa.

“I could eat…” he agreed, making his way through to the kitchen and retrieving the stack of take-away menus the doctor kept in the drawer. Returning to the lounge he slumped down next to Cayden and dropped them on his lap. Cayden chuckled dryly as he flicked through them.

“This is something Mom would not approve of,” he muttered, waving the stack at Clint. Pulling a smile onto his lips he turned to the archer. “Maybe I could cook something for us tomorrow evening? From scratch?”

Clint’s brows furrowed slightly.

“Oh… eh Tony’s having one of his movie nights – he found out that Steve still hasn’t watched the Lord of the Rings movies so he’s wanting everyone round at about two,” the archer pursed his lips slightly. “Sorry. I know you have a day off…”

“Hey…it’s ok,” Cayden shrugged, forcing a smile as he bit back a swell of disappointment. “I guess I’m just going to have to make the most of you while I have you then, eh?”


	2. Chapter 2

A series of loud, sharp beeps tore through the silence of the room, waking both inhabitants in the room instantly. A curse slipped from Cayden’s lips as he quickly disentangled himself from Clint, reaching out towards the bedside cabinet instinctively as Clint sat bolt upright, keen eyes scanning the room.

“Shit… sorry…” Cayden threw a quick glance over his shoulder as Clint’s defensive stance relaxed upon realising the source of their rude awakening. The doctor quickly scanned the message relaying on his pager. “Sorry Darlin’… duty calls…” he sighed, rolling out of bed and grabbing the nearest set of clean clothes before turning back and brushing his lips quickly over Clint’s. “No rest for the wicked.”

Clint scoffed.

“Yeah, SHIELD don’t know the meaning of _day off_ ,” he sighed, throwing back the covers and starting to shuffle towards the edge of the bed.

“Hey, no you stay,” Cayden held a hand up and quirked a smile at the archer. “It’s still stupid early, just go back to sleep,” the doctor pulled a small trinket box off a nearby shelf – an oriental looking item that he had picked up in Hawaii when he had been stationed at Pearl Harbour – and flipped the lid open. Picking out the single key within the box he dropped it onto the bedside cabinet, offering Clint a quick smile and casual shrug. “Just lock up after yourself when you’re done.”

Clint arched an eyebrow as Cayden turned away but stayed where he was, watching as the other man disappeared quickly into the bathroom. Reaching out slowly he brushed his fingers over the key, twirling it around in a circle before settling back against the pillows.

“Any idea what’s going on?” he asked as Cayden reappeared, dressed and pretty much ready to. The doctor shook his head.

“Page didn’t say,” Cayden ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll give you a shout when I know what’s going on… and if I get some time alone,” he paused as he reached the door. “Oh – and you may as well just keep the key,” he offered the archer a smirk. “It’ll save you from any more awkward encounters with my neighbours.”

Clint screwed up his face slightly as he thought back to the week before when he had been accosted by the lady who lived down the hall.

“OK,” he nodded although his brow did twitch slightly toward a frown. “Just… look after yourself too yeah?”

Cayden gave a quick salute.

“Dehydration is the enemy,” he smirked, disappearing out the door. Clint let out a quiet but long sigh, gaze falling onto the key sitting on the bedside chest. With a slight shake of the head he settled properly back down in the bed, rolling over into the warm spot not long vacated by Cayden, wrapping himself up in the duvet. May as well take the other man’s advice and catch up on a little more sleep…

x-x-x

Cayden rubbed his face tiredly as he made his way into his small office, grabbing a bottle of water out of the mini fridge next to his desk and downing more than half the contents as he dropped a stack of files onto the desk and flopping down on the seat. Closing his eyes he tilted his head back and simply sat for a few minutes, enjoying being off his feet for the first time in hours. Opening his eyes reluctantly he glanced over at the clock. It was late in the evening – very late – but the doctor figured it was safe to send Clint a quick text message. Leaning precariously to the side he opened the top drawer of the desk and pulled out his personal cell phone. His eyebrow arched slightly as he found a little envelope sitting in the top corner of the screen. Unlocking the phone his brows arched further as Natasha’s name scrolled over the screen.

_Tossing a key at him while you’re on your way out to an emergency and telling him to keep it to avoid awkward encounters with your nosy neighbours? Very devious Dr Poole…. I like it :)_

Cayden’s lips quirked upwards. It hadn’t taken long for Clint to tell her about it but the message seemed light enough – Cayden hoped that meant he was not freaking out about it. At least not too much.

_What can I say? It just came to me._

Cayden hit the send button and reached out for his bottle of water, taking another swig as he flicked back to the main message menu and scrolling down to Clint’s message thread. Before he could begin typing however a reply from Natasha beeped through.

_You’re going to have to put a lot more thought into it when you ask him to move in with you_

A quiet chuckle escaped Cayden’s lips as he immediately hit the reply button.

_Oh I’ll think of something_

The reply was almost instant:

_(smirk)_

Cayden pursed his lips.

_Christ you can even do it over text_

_O:-)_

Cayden rolled his eyes and scrolled back to Clint’s thread, quickly typing and sending a simple:

_Hydrating_

The reply came through almost as fast as Natasha’s.

_Glad to hear it. Is that things calming down?_

Cayden started to type a reply but another incoming message stopped his flow. Once again his eyebrow arched as he found he had a message from Natasha.

_Oh look, Clint’s smiling now ;)_

Despite himself Cayden’s lips curled into a wide smile even as he rolled his eyes and returned to his message to Clint. He doubted Natasha would be expecting a reply to that one.

_Yeah. Still have a couple of guys in pretty bad shape but they’re off the critical list for now at least. Gonna have to keep an eye on them. It’s going to be a long night._

_Well make sure someone else takes their turn too yeah? You need rest too x_

Cayden’s smile softened at both the concern and the fact Clint knew him so well.

_Noted. I’ll call you in the morning x_


	3. Chapter 3

Natasha’s eyebrow arched as she felt the soft buzz ripple along the sofa from Clint’s cell phone. Next to her the archer subtly unlocked his phone, keeping the screen turned towards him so as not to draw attention to it in the dimly lit room. She waited until Clint locked the phone again and laid it back down beside him before shifting to lean closer to him.

“Cayden still working?” she whispered, head resting against the plush sofa near to Clint’s shoulder. The archer nodded, sighing softly.

“He’s just come out of another surgery. He’s just getting something to eat and drink then they’re going back in again.”

“Again?” Natasha’s eyebrow arched. “Have you spoken to him at all?”

A SHIELD mission just over a week previous had – to put it simply – not gone to plan. Fourteen agents had been sent out and all had come back in various stages of injury. Cayden had been called into work in the middle of the night and had barely been heard from since as he and the rest of his medical team tried to limit the damage. To Clint and Natasha’s knowledge two agents had been lost so far and several remained critical.

“He did call quickly last night,” Clint replied quietly. “Sounded dead on his feet,” the archer’s lips quirked slightly. “He’d just been on the phone to his mom so between that and the fact he’s tired his accent was a bit stronger than normal.”

Natasha chuckled quietly. Across the room Tony turned his head and shot the two a dirty look.

“Hey lovebirds, what you two whispering about?”

“Nothing you’d be interested in,” Natasha replied breezily. Clint snorted as Tony’s eyebrow rose dubiously.

“Watch the movie…” the billionaire grumbled, returning his attention to the obscenely large screen the team were gathered around. Clint chuckled quietly and did the same. Best not to upset Tony on one of his _team bonding movie nights_ …even if the movie he had picked sucked…

x-x-x

A quiet, tired sigh escaped Cayden’s lips as he made his way down the SHIELD corridor, fingers tapping absently against the folders in his arms. He paused outside the office he was headed for, knocking briskly and stepping back.

“Enter,” a deep voice drifted through the door. Cayden inhaled deeply and pushed open the door, offering the occupant within the large office a nod of greeting. Director Fury looked up and returned a nod. “Ah, Doctor Poole, how is everything?”

“We’re getting there, Sir,” Cayden smiled meekly, holding the folders out to the other man. “I just took the last agent off the critical list – although it might be a few days yet before we have everyone awake. We’ve discharged five today and hopefully two more will be out tomorrow.”

It had been over two weeks now since the failed mission that had kept SHIELD medical working round the clock. Even the best off of the remaining injured agents were going to be off duty for at least three weeks. Many had weeks if not months of physiotherapy ahead of them.

“Good,” Fury nodded slowly, opening the file and quickly skimming the contents. “Good…”

Fury continued, closing the file and laying it to the side of his desk for proper reading later. “Your team did a truly admirable job, please be sure to pass on my thanks.”

Cayden gave another nod.

“Thank you Sir, I will pass that on.”

“Please let me know when the last agent wakes.”

“Of course,” Cayden bowed his head, worrying his bottom lip as his mind drifted to the other point he had been thinking about earlier. Director Fury tilted his head as he studied the expression that came over the doctor.

“Was there something else doctor?” his eyebrow arched as the other man made no sign of having heard him. “Doctor Poole?” despite his slightly raised volume there was still no response. “ _Commander_.”

“Sir?” Cayden looked up sharply, a sheepish smile quickly pulling on his lips as Fury chuckled quietly. “Sorry I…” he frowned slightly before taking a deep breath. “Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about…”

x-x-x

“Just take it easy on that leg but make sure you do the stretches,” Cayden offered the young agent in front of him a smile. “If you see Sarah on your way out she’ll schedule you in for some physio.”

“Thanks doctor,” the agent hopped carefully off the medical bed and gingerly made his way towards the door. Cayden watched him leave, making sure he made it out the room ok on his own before returning his attention to his computer. Quickly filling in the last of the details concerning the agent’s discharge and closing the file. Running a hand over his face and through his hair he turned and quickly left the room himself, heading for his office. That was the last of his personally assigned patients from the failed mission discharged and the only other agents remaining were stable and awake. There were plenty doctors on shift who had been off for a couple of days at least recently leaving Cayden as the only one who had been on duty since the initial call had come in.

As he made his way down the corridors – much quieter now than they had been for the past few weeks – Cayden sluggishly planned out his next moves in his head, trying to decide whether or not to let Clint know he was about to leave. The way he felt there was a very good chance he would fall asleep the second he sat down in his own apartment but at the same time he did desperately want to see the archer. With a faint smile he decided to call him before he left for home. If the archer came round then great but if not then at least he would hear the other man’s voice…

“Doctor Poole!”

Cayden stopped dead, closing his eyes and inhaling sharply. He knew that tone. So much for getting home anytime soon…


	4. Chapter 4

A tired sigh escaped Clint’s lips as he rolled his shoulders, wincing at the pain that rippled down his arms and back. He was battered and bruised but nothing too serious thankfully.

“You look like shit.”

Clint chuckled and turned toward the red head behind him.

“Gee thanks ‘Tasha,” he arched an eyebrow at the dust and blood covered assassin. “You look stunning.”

Natasha smirked.

“Come on. Let’s go find the rest.”

Clint nodded and started to follow the female but an unexpected voice from nearby stopped him.

“Agent Barton!”

Clint’s brow furrowed slightly as he turned to face Cayden, blinking in surprise at both the doctor’s presence and the scowl on his face.

“Doctor?”

“That needs treated,” Cayden pointed to the gash on Clint’s arm. The archer screwed up his face slightly.

“It’s not that bad…”

“That’s _my_ call Agent not yours,” the doctor jerked his head towards the wall behind him before turning his attention to Natasha who was not even trying to hide her amused smirk. “You too Agent Romanov – you don’t go anywhere till you’re cleared.”

Natasha arched an eyebrow as Cayden pointed towards a nearby medic, leaning towards Clint as the archer crossed his arms sulkily.

“Your boyfriend’s a grumpy bastard today,” she turned an overly sweet smile to her fellow agent. “Have fun.”

Clint curled his lip up as Natasha wandered off toward her medic. Taking a deep breath he uncrossed his arms – carefully so as not to let Cayden know how much crossing them in the first place had actually hurt him – and made his way over to the doctor.

“What on earth are you doing here?” Clint asked quietly as he was guided to sit on a nearby wall, far enough away from the rest of the medics to give them a little privacy but not obviously so. Cayden grabbed up a bag and knelt in front of the archer.

“Where possible SHIELD medical teams will be on location to immediately triage injured agents,” Cayden replied bluntly, pulling on a pair of sterile gloves and taking a hold of Clint’s arm to get a better look at the bleeding wound on his bicep. Clint frowned at the response.

“I know that… I meant what are _you_ doing here?” his voice softened somewhat. “You’ve worked more than two weeks solid.”

Cayden shrugged.

“This is what I do,” he turned away to pull more supplies from is bag. Clint bit his bottom lip, falling into silence as Cayden cleaned his arm and further inspected what he hoped was not too deep a cut on his arm. Not once did he look up at the archer. Clint glanced over to where Natasha had been directed, finding the female was just getting up from being inspected, apparently having been given the all clear. The assassin looked back in Clint’s direction, offering a quick smile and wave as she walked off, no doubt to assure the rest of the team they were both ok.

“You won’t need stitches,” Cayden informed him. “I’ll just cover it to keep it clean.”

“Okay,” Clint frowned as Cayden grabbed up some bandages. “Cayden, you alright?”

“Oh I’m fine,” the doctor replied blandly, still not looking up at the archer. “I’ve barely slept for over two weeks and then just when I think I’m getting to go home I get told that the Avengers are being set loose on some giant robot things and I have to get a team up here. So I get my ass straight to the jet and the first thing I see when it gets here is my boyfriend jumping off a motherfucking building.”

Clint flinched slightly – and it had nothing to do with the medical treatment he was receiving. He opened his mouth to reply – to point out that Natasha had been in trouble – but he decided against it, shutting his mouth again with a faint frown. Cayden finished bandaging the archer’s arm and started to pack away, moving to stand back up.

“Cayden…” Clint reached out quickly, fingers resting gently on the doctor’s arm. The other man finally looked Clint in the eye and the archer offered a soft, sincere smile. “I’m sorry I scared you.”

Cayden let out a quiet sigh as Clint pulled his fingers back, some of the tension seeping from his shoulders as he ran a hand through his hair.

“I know you … I just…” he returned a wry smile. “It’s been a shitty couple of weeks. I shouldn’t be taking it out on you.”

“Hey, don’t worry about me. I can handle grumpy. Have you met The Other Guy?” his smile widened as Cayden chuckled quietly. His face grew more sombre however as he studied the doctor’s face, taking close note of the dark circles under his eyes. “Please tell me you’re finishing soon. I’m sorry baby but you look like shit.”

Cayden smirked, tilting his head in acknowledgement.

“Everything’s pretty much under control here so hopefully we’ll be heading back shortly. Then I just have to drop off my report, sign out and then I’m off for a few days.”

“Glad to hear it,” Clint smiled. “I’ll meet you at your apartment then yeah?”

Cayden’s brow furrowed slightly.

“I thought Tony liked to get everyone together after things like this?”

“Well yeah but…” Clint shrugged. Cayden forced a wry smile.

“I’ll probably be sound asleep within five minutes,” he pointed out. “Seriously Clint, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Clint arched his eyebrow but gave a relenting sigh.

“Promise you’ll go back to your _own apartment_ tonight? No staying at base? No checking up on anything unless they call you with an emergency?”

Cayden smiled softly.

“I promise.”

Clint narrowed his eyes slightly but gave a small nod. The doctor seemed to be telling the truth – or at the very least had good intentions of doing as he was asked…

“Ok. I’ll see you later then. Better go find the guys now though.”

“’Kay,” Cayden nodded, stepping back as Clint turned and walked away. Running a hand thorough his hair he rolled his shoulders tiredly and continued to pack away his supplies. Thankfully casualties had been low – hopefully they would be heading back to medical soon…


	5. Chapter 5

Steve let out a quiet, tired sigh as he made his may across the remains of the battle field to where Thor stood on an overpass, apparently surveying the scene below. A sense of unease started to grow within the super soldier as he drew closer and saw a frown pulled on the thunder god's face.

"Everything ok?" Steve asked, casting his eyes over the scene below but he saw nothing untoward. Thor turned to him with a reassuring smile.

"All is well," he nodded before gesturing to an area below. "I merely observe that Clint is receiving medical attention," the Asgardian's brow arched. "But not from Natasha."

Steve blinked in surprise as he looked to where Thor pointed to find that indeed Clint was being attended to by one of the SHIELD medics.

"Fury started sending medics out after the last two incidents," Steve informed Thor. The blonde nodded.

"A wise idea when Hawkeye is on the team," he smirked although his tone held an undertone of genuine concern. Steve gave a nod. Although more than capable the archer did still have a human body. The captain studied the archer closely and although they were at a fair distance he did not appear to be badly hurt. After a moment however a faint frown pulled on Steve’s brow, his head tilting slightly in an inquisitive manner. If he did not know better he would have said the medic was chastising the archer… and Clint was actually looking quite contrite…

“What we looking at?” Tony appeared suddenly beside his two teammates, looking from Steve to Thor before following their confused gazes to where Clint was being treated. The billionaire blinked in surprise. “Has he been drugged? Last time someone other than Natasha tried to give Legolas medical attention he threatened to gut them,” Tony chuckled before his head too tilted inquisitively. “Are they… do they know each other?”

“From what I have observed it would appear so,” Thor replied. “They appear… friends?”

The three Avengers watched as the doctor finished tending to whatever injury Clint had sustained to his arm and moved to stand back up. As he did though Clint reached out and for the briefest of moments the archers fingers rested on the doctor’s arm. It was a simple gesture, over in seconds as Clint leant forward and said something before pulling away. The doctor gave a shake of the head but even from their distant vantage point Clint’s three teammates saw that the other man relaxed. An innocent enough interaction… but not for Clint Barton…

“They’re not friends!” Tony exclaimed. “They’re… agh!”

“Shhhh!” Natasha hissed, shoving Tony in the opposite direction from the overpass as she leant back and pulled Thor and Steve away too. She sighed quietly as she looked over and saw Bruce was heading in their direction too. Tony looked back at her with his mouth open, pointing back in Clint’s direction.

“They… Legolas… doctor… _touching_ …”

Natasha rolled her eyes.

“Ok, yes. Clint is dating one of the SHIELD doctors,” she shot Tony a glare as he laughed loudly. “Will you be quiet! You lot aren’t supposed to know yet!”

“Why not?” Thor asked, a confused, almost hurt frown pulling on his face. “Why would Clint not share this with us?”

Natasha shot one more glare at Tony before turning to Thor with a more understanding smile.

“You guys are like family to Clint. You all finding out will be a big deal and he’s just not ready for that yet,” the female gave a slight shake of the head. “He’s not good with… _feelings_.”

Thor gave a nod, apparently satisfied with the answer. Tony however scowled and crossed his arms.

“I thought he wanted to stay single,” he grumbled. Natasha rolled her eyes.

“It just kinda… _happened_. It’s not like you plan these things. And they have already had to deal with two Clint freak outs so you _do not say a word to him_!”

Tony held up his hands in retreat as Natasha pointed at him.

“As if I would,” he replied innocently but his eyes sparkled mischievously. Natasha sighed.

“Tony, _please_ ,” she begged, her eyes genuinely pleading. “Cayden is a really great guy, don’t screw this up for them. He’s sweet enough to put up with Clint and Clint’s bullshit and he’s crazy enough to put up with Clint and Clint’s bullshit.”

Tony sighed melodramatically.

“Fine. I won’t say anything until Legolas ‘fesses up.”

“Thank you,” Natasha gave a curt nod. Steve glanced back over in the general direction of the doctor and the archer in question.

“I believe Doctor Poole used to be in the Navy?”

Tony’s eyes widened.

“ _You know him_?”

“No, not really,” Steve shook his head. “I have met him once or twice when visiting agents injured in the field. Only briefly though. I’m sure he was talking with one of the agents about having a military background.”

“He served as a Navy Seal but he blew out his knee and fell back on medicine,” Natasha explained. “His intention was to return to the forces as a medic – his knee is rehabilitated enough for that just not enough to rejoin the seals – but he appeared on SHIELD’s radar so…”

“Navy Seal?” Tony arched an eyebrow. “Legolas is dating a God damn _navy seal_?”

“ _Ex_ -navy seal.”

“I don’t care! Make sure and warn us when they have a tiff so I can suit up,” Tony shook his head as Natasha rolled her eyes. “I don’t wanna get caught in the cross fire thank you.”

“I’ll think about it,” Natasha smirked. Tony screwed up his face at her.

“He is actually a fine gentleman,” Thor commented with a small chuckle. “He has many a tale to tell of his times in battle.”

“Wait… _you’ve_ met him too?” Tony spun on the Aasgardian. Thor bowed his head sheepishly.

“I am ashamed to say that it was Doctor Cayden who was on the receiving end of my stint in SHIELD medical.”

Natasha chuckled as Tony gaped.

“It’s ok big guy,” she smirked. “From what I heard Cayden quite enjoyed the attention he got from Clint after that.”

Bruce glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the overpass.

“He has quite a dark sense of humour,” the doctor screwed up his face. “I can only imagine how snarky him and Clint could be together if they got going.”

Tony stopped glowering at Thor and turned the glare on Bruce.

“ _You’ve_ met him?”

Bruce shrugged absently, his expression a blend of sheepish and amused.

“A couple of agents came back from a mission in Bangladesh with a virus the SHIELD medics could not identify so they asked for my help,” he explained. “Doctor Poole was my main point of contact – he had already been doing research into various viruses. Still is actually, he sent me a copy of a report a couple of weeks ago that was really quite interesting.”

Tony arched an eyebrow at the glint in Bruce’s eyes – he knew the sparkle of scientific wonder when he saw it. The billionaire could not help but pout slightly as he crossed his arms. Some of the guys he had picked out for Clint had been brainy. Or had a dark sense of humour…

“So how long as he been keeping Mr Perfect a secret then?” he asked, returning to his sulky scowl. Natasha’s smirk faded as she pursed her lips.

“Eh… well… they met when Clint had to get those stitches…” her voice grew a little quieter. “After that accident…”

Tony’s scowl faded, his brows raising.

“You mean _my_ accident?” his eye lit up as Natasha nodded reluctantly. “So… _technically_ ,” he gestured back to the edge of the overpass. “This is my doing.”

Natasha sighed as the rest of the team rolled their eyes.

“ _Technically_ you played a hand,” she conceded before adding quickly; “An accidental and unknowing hand!”

“Ha! Told you all I’d get Legolas laid,” Tony smirked triumphantly. He titled his head as Steve scoffed. “Don’t know what you’re pulling faces for Captain – you’re next.”


	6. Chapter 6

Cayden dragged his legs up the last of the stairs, letting out a quiet, relieved sigh as he stepped onto his floor. Running a hand quickly through his damp hair the doctor found himself relieved that he had a shower before leaving SHIELD medical. Right at that moment all he wanted to do was collapse into bed (then again the sofa was closer…) and he knew he would just end up lying awake thinking about how much he wanted a shower but not quite being able to drag his ass off whatever surface he had collapsed onto.

Unlocking the door Cayden stepped into his apartment, letting the door fall shut behind him. Slowly he shuffled into the lounge, dropping his bag in the middle of the floor and setting his sights on the nearest sofa.

“I was starting to think I was going to have to come and get you.”

“Christ!” Cayden’s eyes widened at the unexpected voice drifting over from the kitchen door. Was he that tired that he hadn’t seen or heard the archer till he spoke up or was the other man that good? The doctor shook his head slightly and laughed. “You scared me!”

“Sorry,” Clint smiled sheepishly, pushing himself off the doorframe and stepping toward Cayden.

“I thought I told you to go to Tony’s?” the doctor commented although there was absolutely no conviction behind the statement. Clint shrugged as he stopped just in front of the taller man.

“’Tasha’s making excuses for me,” he replied, reaching out and running his fingers lightly down Cayden’s arm. “I figured you needed the company more than they needed me.”

A tired smile pulled on Cayden’s lips as slowly he stepped forward, slumping against the smaller man, resting his head against Clint’s neck. Clint wrapped his arms around the doctor’s broad shoulders, running one hand up and down Cayden’s back as the other hand gently stroked the back of his neck. The archer closed his eyes and leant his head against Cayden’s, letting silence reign. He knew that the doctor had been through worse than this – that he had lost many patients before as a doctor and many colleagues and friends in the Navy – and while Cayden had one night admitted that it never got any easier he had long ago learned how to deal with it. Something else was bothering him but Clint knew better than to push. Especially when he was this tired.

“Thanks darlin’,” Cayden murmured as he pulled back, hands still resting lightly on Clint’s hips as he rolled his shoulders tiredly, arching his back slightly as he did so. Clint smiled and gave a small nod of acknowledgement.

“Hungry? I’ve got some of those Indian snack things warming in the oven if you want?”

Cayden tilted his head slightly, lips quirking upwards. Clint had learned early on that after a few days work Cayden would refuse food but if small snack type items were put within reach he would eat – and eat quite a bit. Certainly more than he would eat were he home alone.

“Sounds good,” the doctor agreed. Clint nodded and stepped back.

“Go sit down then. I’ll go get everything.”

Cayden did as he was told and turned towards the sofa, slumping down onto it ungracefully. Throwing his head back he closed his eyes and let out a weary sigh, not moving again even as he heard Clint return, the sounds of plates being laid on the table greeting his ears and the scrape of the table being dragged closer. The doctor finally opened his eyes as he felt the sofa dip next to him, a pair of strong arms slipping around his waist. Shuffling back into the hold Cayden rested his back against Clint’s chest, hooking one elbow around Clint’s bent knee as with the other he laid a hand over Clint’s. Turning his head to the side he rested his ear over Clint’s heart, smiling contentedly as he listed to the steady thrum of the archer’s heartbeat. Glancing over at the table Clint had brought within reach he scanned the selection of food before reaching out and grabbing a pakora, shoving it in his mouth. He would bet any amount that Clint was smirking but he was too comfortable to look up. For several minutes the two remained in silence, each occasionally picking at the food before Cayden finally spoke up.

“I’ve read your SHIELD medical file,” the doctor said quietly, fingers ghosting over the back of Clint’s hand. A wry smile pulled on his lips as he felt the archer stiffen ever so slightly. “More than once,” Cayden inhaled deeply, closing his eyes. “You’ve come back from missions in some helluva states.”

Behind the doctor Clint too closed his eyes, nuzzling into Cayden’s hair as he gently tightened his grip around the other man. There really was nothing much he could say to that although at least now he had a better idea of what was really eating at his boyfriend.

“Whenever I got some time to myself, you know in between all the triage and surgeries and check-ups and…” Cayden sighed wearily. “I couldn’t help but think about how I’d react if you came in like that,” a wry scoff escaped the doctor. “ _When_ you come in like that,” he paused, frowning heavily as he lightly traced his fingers over the hand pressed tightly against his stomach. “I don’t… I mean I can stitch you up while you’re awake and talking to me but anything else… I…” Cayden tilted his head towards the archer as he felt the archer’s fingers carding through his hair. “I don’t know if I could treat you if you were badly hurt,” he admitted quietly before sighing wearily. “Not that I would trust half my colleagues to treat you – I know some of them still hold a grudge….” the doctor paused again, inhaling deeply before finally continuing. “ _I’m_ supposed to take charge when the shit hits the fan Clint. I’m the one who decides who needs the most urgent treatment and I’m the one who decides who does what… and I can’t say for sure that I could be impartial enough to…” Cayden took another sharp breath. “I told Fury. About us.”

Clint blinked. And blinked again. The man in his arms suddenly pulled forward, sitting up and turning to face him.

“I’m sorry Clint,” Cayden ran a hand through his hair, continuing quickly before the archer had the chance to form a reply. “I know you’re not ready to tell anyone and I get that I _really do_ but I couldn’t… if you were critical there might not be time for… I just ha…”

“Cayden! Hey…” Clint snapped out of his surprise and grabbed the doctor either side of his face, forcing him to look at him. “Cayden it’s ok. I understand.”

Cayden snapped his mouth shut and looked at Clint, eyebrow arching slightly.

"Really?" the doctor fidgeted with the hem of Clint's shirt, gaze dropping uncertainly. Clint inhaled deeply but returned an even look as he tilted Cayden's chin up.

"Really," he nodded, a genuine smile pulling onto his lips at the absolute relief that filled Cayden's face. "Hell it’s not like Fury doesn’t know everything else about me anyway."

Cayden chuckled quietly, shoulders relaxing.

“So no freak out?” he asked quietly, lips quirking slightly. Clint screwed his nose up, pursing his lips.

“No freak out…” he agreed. “Although I don’t know if I’ll be able to look Fury in the eye anytime soon, thank you.”

Another quiet laugh escaped Cayden’s lips as he closed his eyes and fell sideways against the back of the sofa. Clint laughed quietly.

"Bedtime?"

"Bedtime," Cayden agreed with a nod, blearily blinking his eyes open. Clint clambered to his feet and pulled the taller man up with him, waiting with a hand on Cayden’s hip as the doctor stretched. Cayden let out a long yawn before looking down at Clint. “Did you know that Stark has a whole team of top doctors on call for you guys?”

Clint blinked.

"He does?"

Cayden smiled.

"Yeah. Apparently he went to Fury and said he didn't trust for you to get decent medical treatment after Loki and he organised for a whole damn team to be on call for all of you," Cayden smiled tiredly. "Fury never told me ‘cause he didn't want me to have any preconceptions of you. And since the last couple of times you've come into medical you've walked yourself in the other team was never called."

"Huh," Clint smiled. "Always said Tony's a big softy," he paused and arched an eyebrow at the doctor. "So if something happens to me you won't need to worry?"

Cayden screwed up his nose.

"Well I won't need to worry about you getting decent treatment," he replied, lips curling up wryly as he brushed his fingers down Clint's cheek, continuing quietly. "I might find something else to worry about though."

Clint bit his lip, dropping his gaze in acknowledgement as he snuggled up against the taller man.

"I do try to come back in one piece," he offered. Cayden smiled meekly, nodding tiredly as he buried his head in Clint’s neck.

“I know darlin,” he murmured. “I just…” Cayden inhaled deeply, swallowing back the words that threatened to spill from his lips, managing instead a quiet; “Missed you.”

“Missed you too,” Clint replied, pulling back carefully and gently pushing his boyfriend towards the bedroom. “Now come on before you collapse. I’m not carrying you to bed!”


	7. Chapter 7

Cayden took a deep breath as he made his way down the corridor towards the administration office, running a hand through his hair before pulling on a warm smile across his lips. Stepping into the office he rolled his eyes slightly at the dreamy expression on the administrator’s face – and that of the two receptionists and nurse who were also in the small room.

“Captain Rodgers!” Cayden stepped up to the figure the four woman were swooning over, unable to help the faint smirk at the sheer relief that took over the taller man’s face. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

Steve offered the doctor a smile and a faint shrug.

“Oh I was in the neighbourhood and I just thought I’d swing in past – see how everyone was doing,” the soldier’s smile faded slightly into a more solemn expression. “I heard about the… recent mission.”

Cayden gave a small nod.

“Yeah it was… _busy_ around here,” he commented before pulling the smile back on his face. “But we’re getting there. Just two more to discharge and that should be within the next few days all being well.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear that,” Steve smiled. Cayden suppressed a smirk as the soldier glanced around uneasily at the woman still staring at him.

“I’m sure they’d be delighted to have a visit,” the doctor gestured to the door behind him. “I know patients in the past have always appreciated it. I can take you along now if you want?”

“That would be great,” Steve nodded, happily following the doctor out of the room, of course offering polite smiles to the woman as he left. “Doctor Poole, right? I believe we met after you treated agents I worked with on that mission in Belize?”

Cayden’s eyebrow arched ever so slightly but he maintained a composed expression.

“That’s right, yes.”

“You’re an ex-soldier yourself?”

“Ex-Navy, yeah,” Cayden replied calmly.

“Oh, right sorry,” Steve chuckled sheepishly. “So were you on duty at all after this mission?”

Cayden scoffed quietly, pausing at a set of double doors and turning to face the super soldier.

“I was on duty for all of it. I’m in charge of the trauma team – I was here day and night for sixteen days.”

Steve’s eyes widened slightly as Cayden offered a wry smile and continued through the doors.

“That’s…” the soldier let out a long breath after a brief silence. “You must have been exhausted.”

“Hazard of the job,” Cayden shrugged, looking up and seeing one of his colleagues exiting a side room. “Ah, Nate how is Agent Price?”

“Another bad night with the back pain unfortunately,” Cayden’s colleague replied. “He’s just been given another muscle relaxer.”

Cayden nodded.

“Best leave him be then – hopefully he’ll sleep. Do you know how Agent King is?”

The other doctor laughed.

“Trying to persuade us to let him out of bed,” he replied with an arched eyebrow. Cayden chuckled.

“Safe to visit him then,” he turned to Steve and nodded his head up the corridor. “I’ll just go in and check if he’s up for the visit.”

Of course the agent was delighted at the idea of a visit from Captain America and to his credit Steve spoke happily to the injured agent, encouraging him to wait a little longer before trying to get up if that was indeed the doctors’ recommendation. Cayden watched from the corner of the room, not having been directly involved in this particular agent’s treatment he was happy to stand back and watch.

The soldier had been talking to the injured agent for about ten minutes when another doctor came in to check on his patient. Steve smiled and wished the agent a full recovery, following Cayden out the room to leave the two in peace.

“How are the staff?” Steve asked as Cayden led him down another corridor. “I imagine you weren’t the only one working long hours.”

“No I was not,” Cayden agreed. “Thankfully it’s been quiet the last week or so and we’ve been able to let people have the time off. We have a few who are on call for emergencies of course but on the whole we’re getting time off to relax,” once again the doctor paused outside another shut door. “So. Do you wanna see more patients or do you wanna go somewhere quiet so you can ask me about Clint?”

Steve blinked.

“Eh… excuse me?”

Cayden rolled his eyes and opened the door, gesturing for the soldier to go inside. Steve inhaled deeply and took a step forward.

“Capsicle!”

Steve blinked again.

“ _Tony_?” he stared at the man sitting on the medical bed. “What on earth are you doing here?”

“Apparently he has a sore leg,” Cayden’s dry voice came from behind the soldier along with the sound of the door clicking shut. Tony crossed his arms sulkily.

“And it is! And you left me here all alone for… ages. I’m telling Fury.”

Cayden scoffed.

“You do that,” he replied, leaning back against the desk opposite Tony and crossing his arms. He turned his gaze to Steve. “At least you tried to be subtle. He was as obvious as a jackhammer.”

Tony opened his mouth to object but shut it with a shrug. Steve looked at Tony and sighed, turning an apologetic smile towards Cayden.

“I’m sorry.”

Cayden shrugged although his shoulders remained somewhat tense.

“I’ll take it you all know then?”

“Know what?” Tony asked innocently. Cayden rolled his eyes.

“Oh come on! You come in complaining of having a _sore leg_ – you come in _here_ … to SHIELD medical when you must have an army of world class physicians at your disposal and you start asking me random questions and then two minutes later I get a call saying that Captain America has shown up asking to speak to the doctor in charge,” he arched an eyebrow. “How did you know I was on shift anyway? Or did you just get lucky?”

Tony pursed his lips slightly.

“JARVIS hacked your rota,” the billionaire admitted. Cayden turned his gaze upwards in non-surprise, having heard much about JARVIS from Clint.

“Same,” Steve admitted. Tony laughed.

“Ooooo… bad Captain!”

Cayden inhaled deeply.

“Does Clint know that you know?”

Tony shook his head fiercely.

“Nope. And don’t worry – we have been sworn to secrecy by Natasha.”

Cayden studied the other man for a moment before sighing tiredly.

“So what are you even doing here? Natasha’s already given me the shovel talk?”

“Shovel talk?” Steve frowned.

“If he ever hurts Clint we get to kill him and bury him,” Tony replied quickly, waving a hand dismissively at the soldier before turning back to Cayden. “And we just want to get to know the guy dating our friend – what’s wrong with that?”

Cayden smirked at the innocent expression on Tony’s face.

“You mean you want to know what makes me better than the guys you tried to fix him up with?”

Steve laughed as Tony pouted, although the billionaire’s eyes sparkled with amusement.

“That too.”

Cayden let out a sigh, glancing at his watch.

“Well as much as I would love to stay and chat with you both I do have a patient coming in for physio in about fifteen minutes so…”

“Of course,” Steve nodded. “We don’t want to get in your way – we should never have bothered you while you were working.”

Cayden returned a slight nod, looking between the soldier and Tony.

“Look… _please_ don’t let him know that you know,” he requested quietly. “He would almost definitely freak out and things have been going so well lately and…”

Tony waved a hand as Cayden’s voice trailed off.

“Don’t worry – we’ve already been sworn to secrecy by Natasha,” he tilted his head to the side as he studied the doctor, his amused tone fading as realisation spread over his face. “You _really_ do care about him don’t you?”

Cayden scoffed quietly but his lips quirked sheepishly at seeing the earnest expression on Tony’s face.

“Yeah I do,” Cayden nodded, smile widening slightly. “I love him.”

Tony blinked in surprise before breaking out in a grin.

“Really? Have you told him that?”

“Ha, are you kidding?” Cayden shook his head. “He’d run to the hills if I told him that…”

Tony nodded solemnly, hopping off the bed.

“Well don’t worry – we won’t let him know that we know,” Tony assured him. Cayden offered a meek, grateful smile to both as Tony made his way toward the door.

“Thank you for your time Doctor Poole,” Steve smiled politely. Cayden rolled his eyes.

“Please, you all may as well just call me Cayden.”

“Well thank you Cayden,” Steve corrected himself. “We’re sorry we wasted your time.”

“Hey! Speak for yourself!” Tony screwed up his face at the soldier before turning back to Cayden. “Just one last question.”

“Tony…” Steve warned even as Cayden arched an eyebrow in query.

“Who tops?”

“ _Tony_!” Steve spluttered, grabbing the billionaires arm and trying to pull him toward the door. Cayden however let out a short bark of laughter.

“Depends who wants to more,” he shrugged, offering Tony a smirk. The other man grinned and turned to Steve.

“I like this guy. Legolas had better keep him.”


End file.
